Indian in Scotland uses internet to help friend in Mumbai

New Delhi: Bridging two continents, the internet enabled a girl sitting in Scotland to help her friend escape terrorists who attacked India's financial capital Mumbai, killing at least 127 people and injuring over 327 others.

Neena Biswal, a MSc Public Relations student at the University of Stirling in Scotland, was Thursday glued to her computer screen. She was tracking news sites and keeping in constant touch with her friend Rosannne Rodricks, a public relations consultant trapped in her south Mumbai office since terrorists went on the rampage Wednesday night.

"My friend Rosanne is stuck in her office in Mittal Court, which is just a stone's throw away from the Oberoi Trident Hotel where terrorists have held people hostage."

"She has no access to the TV and is waiting for the situation to improve to go back home. Her phone battery is also discharged, but she is hooked on to the world through the internet. I am keeping her updated so that she can escape as soon as possible," Biswal said.

Many other Indian students abroad, worried after getting news of the terror attacks, were glued to TV channels and news websites.

"We are watching everything from NDTV, CNN, Fox News and Sky to all the local news channels. They are showing nothing but the Mumbai attacks. Everybody here is going nuts," Deepti Malhotra, a postgraduate public relations student at the AUT University in New Zealand, told IANS over phone.

Sabitri Chakraborty, a MSc student at the London School of Economics (LSE), was aghast at the news.

"I haven't slept since last night. I am constantly monitoring the CNN-IBN website. We are shocked by what has happened back home. It feels so helpless to be so far and see your friends in danger."

"I can't believe that places where we thought we were secure are being turned into hell. We don't even know these terrorists and have not done any harm to them," she said.

Malhotra, however, blamed lax security and corruption in India for the terror strike.

"This is disastrous. It's not just a terrorist attack but it also highlights the corruption in the system and lax security," she said.

"People are going to condemn India for not being a safe country. Australia is already calling back all locals. This will be a setback for the tourism industry. The locals here are having a dig at us. Now everybody is going to raise brows at us in colleges and at work. It's a shameful thing for the country," Malhotra added.
Source: IANS